Wadlington a Champion of Change

 On Friday September 30, the White House will recognize ten individuals from across the country as White House “Champions of Change” for extracurricular enrichment, afterschool, and summer programming for marginalized girls, including girls of color.  One of the ten is from Pennsylvania:

Cheryl Ann Wadlington – Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaCheryl Ann Wadlington is the Founder and Executive Director of The Evoluer House in Philadelphia. Under Wadlington’s leadership, The Evoluer House has delivered award-winning empowerment programs over the past 12 years to more than 1,200 teen girls of color experiencing unique social and emotional challenges and barriers to success. The Evoluer House works to equip the most underserved and hard-to-reach girls in Philadelphia with essential tools to become college-bound and career-ready and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. As a testament to its success, 100% of Evoluer House graduates finish high school on time and 90% go on to attend a four-year college. Cheryl is also a fashion and beauty journalist, personal growth consultant, author, and motivational speaker.

Porterfield a Champion of Change

This Friday eleven people will be honored this Friday at the White House as Champions of Change for College Opportunity.  One of the eleven is from Pennsylvania:

Daniel R. Porterfield– Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Daniel R. Porterfield, Ph.D. has served as president of Franklin & Marshall College since 2011. Under his leadership, Franklin & Marshall has developed a distinctive student talent strategy built upon a significant increase in their need-based financial aid budget. Through his work, Franklin & Marshall has seen record application numbers and an increase in the academic profile, diversity, and selectivity of incoming classes. In addition, lower-income and first-generation students at F&M consistently achieve the same average GPA as the student body as a whole and maintaining higher retention and graduation rates. Porterfield sits on the boards of the College Board and the Lenfest College Scholarship Foundation. He has received awards for his work from the KIPP and “I Have A Dream” foundations and in 2016 was named one of the “Sixteen Most Innovative People in Higher Education” by Washington Monthly. Prior to leading Franklin & Marshall, Porterfield served as a Senior Vice President at his alma mater, Georgetown University. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities and earned his Ph.D. at The City University of New York Graduate Center.

Philly School Substitute Numbers

Our friends at NewsWorks have put together a very useful list of daily substitute teacher fill rate by school.  Some schools only get 1% of the substitute teachers they need, other get nearly 80%.  Take a look.

Why Classroom Libraries (Only) Are a Bad Idea

The Philadelphia schools are talking up classroom libraries, having books in each classroom.  While this sounds great, it is a poor substitute for a school-wide library with a trained librarian.  Having books in each classroom is good, no doubt about that, but as an additional to a school library not a substitute for it.  And that is what Philadelphia schools are talking about.  Note this from the Inquirer ("In city elementary schools, a campaign for libraries," by Kristen A. Graham, 11/15/2015):

On Tuesday, Mayor-elect Jim Kenney, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., and 30 other leaders gathered at Clara Barton School to launch a $3.5 million fund-raising campaign aimed at placing libraries in every Philadelphia School District elementary classroom.

The need is great, especially in a system where few whole-school libraries remain, and fewer than a dozen librarians are on staff citywide.

Here's the problem with only classroom libraries and not school libraries.  How many copies of Harry Potter are you going to have?  You'd need one or two in each upper elementary classroom.  How many books can you put in each room?  How can you have students do research projects?  The few bookshelves in each room can't fit enough books for each student to find something on a subject they are interested in.  Students reading above or below grade level are going to have slim pickings.

That's the beauty of a school wide library -- there are books at all grade levels.  There are books on all subjects.  There's something for everyone!  But to have a school wide library you need someone to arrange all the books -- to put them in some kind of order, say by call number.  Someone has to know the collection to refer students to books they will enjoy.  Someone to handle book donations.

I volunteered in my kids' elementary school library for one hour a week over several years.  I was very impressed by the librarians there (and we had more than one, plus a staff person).  They knew the collection and the students and did their best to connect kids to books they would like or would need for assignments.

A classroom library is a fine idea but it is no substitute for a school wide library and a librarian.  

State Budget Mess in WSJ

Mark Peters and Kris Maher highlight state budget battles in Pennsylvania and Illinois in their Oct. 7th Wall Street Journal article, "State budget fighters fester."  We do not come out of this looking good.  The article mentions school districts and social service groups taking out loans to function while they wait for the governor and the legislature to get their act together.

It's not like the budget deadline snuck up on everyone; we all knew the budget was due months ago.  This is self-inflicted damage.  There really isn't anything more to say.  It's a complete failure.

Slumming for Subs

The Philadelphia schools outsourced the hiring of substitute teachers, to a firm called Source4Teachers.  According to an article in the Inquirer on Aug. 31 ("Philadelphia searching for thousands of substitutes," by Kristen A. Graham).  Source4Teachers if offering a rate of $75 to $90 per day for uncertified substitutes and $90 to $110 per day for certified substitutes.  When the school district hired substitutes it was $126.76 for uncertified, $160.10 for certified, and retired teachers could earn more than that.  So this is a pay cut, although the company does offer health care and retirement (no details on these were offered in the article).

In the school system were I live the school day is seven hours long.  Teacher, and subs, need to arrive at least a little early to get settled and probably don't head out the door as soon as the last class ends.  There is bound to be paperwork somewhere.  A $75.00 day would come out to $10.00 per hour or less, for someone with a college degree, and possibly a master's degree.  The top rate for certified subs doesn't quite equal $15.00 per hour.  A spokesman for the firm is quoted in the article as saying "A lot of these teachers are not in it for the money.  They find themselves missing teaching, and have caught up on all the books they want to read, and now they crave being back in the classroom."  The Source4Teachers CEO suggests that people who hope to get a permanent job with the schools will substitute as a way of getting their foot in the door.  Their ads will highlight the "social value of teaching."

Teaching does have great social value, and I don't know a single teacher who went into that line of work for the money, but shouldn't social value have some connection to economic value?  Why are people who are doing good expected to do it for little or nothing?  I'm really looking forward to seeing articles discussing the reasons why bankers and hedge fund managers should work for peanuts because of the social value of what they do.  Or superintendents ... why aren't superintendents and assistant superintendents expected to work for $15.00 per hour?  I'm sure there are some retired superintendents and administrators out there who have read all the books the want to read and would be thrilled to step back into the educational stew just for the social value of it.  Or corporate CEOs and company spokesmen, maybe they could work for $10.00 or $15.00 per hour, because there is social value to their jobs, too!

If the city and the state want good schools they have to pay for them.  (BTW, state legislature, where's that budget?)  Every student deserves trained qualified teachers, fluent speakers in languages classes, AP instructors with degrees and work backgrounds in those areas, art and music teachers who have some talent and familiarity with those areas.  Even subs should have some familiarity with the subject matter.  I don't think anyone wants to walk into a classroom without having any background in the subject matter they are expected to teach.

Good schools cost money.  There's no way to do it on the cheap.

Labor Secretary Perez in Philadelphia

U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez visited the Delaware Valley on Thursday, August 20th.  His Philadelphia stop as at the Energy Coordinating Agency.  Here's an excerpt from the Department of Labor's blog entry on the day:

For the third stop of the day, we crossed the Delaware River to visit Energy Coordinating Agency in Philadelphia. Through hands-on training, ECA is addressing youth unemployment by giving students the skills to build homes from the ground up. At ECA, we were greeted by David, the lead instructor at the facility. He told Secretary Perez that ever since his dad, a plumber, put a tool in his young hand, he has devoted his life to working with his hands and training others. David went through the program at ECA and worked his way up, now sharing his knowledge with other students.

Open Note to the Governor, State House, and State Senate

Dear Gov. Wolf, State Legislators, and State Senate,

You've had your fun with the annual budget circus, but as the Inquirer notes ("School officials slam Pa. budget stalemate," by Caitlin McCabe 8/19), school is getting ready to start and the schools need to know what their budgets are.

To put it in blunt terms, it is time for you to stop farting around and get down to business.

Here are my personal thoughts on the budget:

Fund the public schools.  Think you're spending a little too much  money there?  Too bad.  Let's see what we can cut from the legislature's budget, tax credits for marcellus shale, special jackets for the state health dept, and so on.

Want to privatize liquor stores?  Sure, just find another revenue stream to replace the lost income from the state stores. I don't drink alcohol and could provide you boatloads of statistics on the social harms caused by it.  You could shut them all down as far as I'm concerned.  Carrie Nation had a good point.

Pension reform?  I'm sure the employees of the state would be happy to follow any example the state government would care to set.  Note this excerpt from "Pennsylvania public pension dilemma rooted in 1990's," by Madison Ross, TribLive 6/15/2014:

Before 9/11 sent financial markets tumbling, the pension funds for public employees were overfunded. In May that year, lawmakers and former Gov. Tom Ridge passed Act 9 of 2001 to raise benefits for employees by about 25 percent, in the future and retroactively.

The law required employees to contribute more to help cover costs. It gave lawmakers a 50 percent pension boost.

So I would expect them to take the lead in reducing benefits as well.  Whatever reductions or changes they pass for state employees and teachers I would expect them to double for themselves.  

But first and foremost -- fund the public schools.

That's my initial budget rant.

Federal Money for PA AP Tests

The U.S. Department of Education announced today that it has awarded $28.4 million in Advanced Placement (AP) grants to 38 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands as part of its efforts to boost college- and career-readiness for historically underserved students. The grants will help defray the costs of taking advanced placement tests for low-income students.

Pennsylvania will receive $673,738

Campaign Donations and Charter Schools

PennLive has a great article and charter on the connection between campaign donations and votes on charter school issues.

Take a look:  http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/02/following_the_money_that_has_a.html

Angie's List on Electricians

The Jane household is an Angie's List household.  We don't hire anyone for a home repair project without checking their recommendations on Angie's List and frequently use that website to find craftsmen to hire.  The company sends out a short magazine to subscribers.  This month's issue had an article on a predicted shortage of electricians.  The same or a similar article was published on their website a few months ago.  ("Shortage of electricians may cause homeowners to wait for service," by Paul F. P. Pogue).  Home repair is something that can't be outsourced -- you can't mail  your electrical system overseas to be fixed.

Inky Article on School Libraries

Kristen A. Graham wrote an excellent article in today's Inquirer on school libraries and librarians (and the lack thereof) called Shelved.  For a few years when my kids were in elementary school I would volunteer in the school library for an hour a week.  The support staff person in the library didn't start work until an hour after school started.  Most other days of the week a parent would come in and volunteer for that hour.  I was impressed with the work the librarians did, not having given much thought about school libraries since I had been in school myself.  They read to the younger kids, taught the older ones about plagiarism and copyright issues, research skills, evaluating sources, and things like Power Point.  Students of all ages learned how to find books and how to evaluate them.  I wasn't introduced to most of those items until college.

The parent volunteer worked the circulation desk, checking books in and out and shelving returned books.  I got to know a lot of students that way.  Once or twice a  year a stack of bookmarks would appear and the kids would get very excited about them.  I took a cue from this and would look for opportunities to make bookmarks for a kid's classroom.  (One year one of the kids was in room 314 -- I made them special bookmarks for Pi Day).  The teachers were always receptive to this.

School libraries can make a real difference in the life of the students.  Look at any school or school system that is considered a "good school" and see if it has a school library with a certified librarian.  I think any school you would want to send you child to is likely to have both.  

The "Nationalization" of Philadelphia Schools

When I am out at political events one frequent topic of conversation is how to repair the Philadelphia school system.  Personally I am wary of charter schools but I know people whose children attend charter schools in the city and love them.  I have concerns about magnet schools but also know people whose children attended such a school and love them.

The School Reform Commission's decision to cancel the contract with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.  This is a nuclear option.  A few things that have not been mentioned in the papers:

Public employee unions, including teachers' unions, often trade in salary increases for decreased health care costs.  Saying the teachers with basic coverage have not contributed to their health care does not take into account what is likely years of lowered pay raises.

There is an informal agreement between schools and teachers.  Because of the nature of the school year, teachers being and end jobs at set times.  Even if a teacher leaves the profession they usually do so after the school year ends.  This is part of the professionalism of teaching, knowing how difficult to find a qualified substitute and how disruptive it is to students for a teacher to leave abruptly, and how chaotic it can be to class grading and teacher recommendations.  Teachers stay until the end of the year.

Except, of course, when the school system decides to violate that mutual respect and professionalism.  The Philadelphia school system has just done that.  I would not blame any teacher who walked, just left at the end of the day and didn't come back.  Respect has to be mutual and for Philadelphia teachers, right now, the district is showing them none.

When I look at the teachers m children have had in our suburban district, I see some amazing teachers.  Many came to teaching as a second career and have years of real world experience in relevant areas.  Science teachers who worked in research labs; some have doctorates.  Social studies teachers who worked in corrections.  Veterans who were military police and now work in middle school, a population that needs boundaries and discipline.  I am always amazed at the number of teachers who were students in the same school system.  They have chosen to come back on the other side of the classroom.  There is a good mix of teachers who have been there for over a decade and relatively new teachers.  They seem to work well together and sometimes team up for joint projects.  They are responsive to student questions and comments.  I cannot say I've had warm personal feelings for each and every teacher my children have had, but I have never felt that had a bad teacher.

Why can't Philadelphia students have that?  I know that if the teachers in my school district woke up one morning and found that the school board suddenly and without notice canceled their work contract many of them would leave, and I would not blame them.  I also feel confident that the parents in the district would demand the school board reverse that decision.

The School Reform Commission says the saving will be used to hire other teachers or staff.  But since the SRC has clearly shown that any contract they make can be revoked, I don't think they will attract the best and brightest job applicants.  I also don't think they can expect people to abide unwritten rule that school employees, as a rule, don't leave during the school year.

No one I've run into at political events has a solution for the Philadelphia schools' issues.  I certainly don't.  But I do know that this latest development isn't going to help anything.  The school always seems to have the money to fulfill the contracts it makes with people like Arlene Ackerman.  It just never has the money for the people who actually work with the kids on a daily basis.

That's my two cents.

First Annual Campus Philly Cup

from the inbox:

First annual Campus Philly Cup to be awarded to the local school with best participation at Campus Philly CollegeFest on Saturday, September 27th Campus Philly rolls out the red carpet for college students on Saturday, September 27th, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for CollegeFest 2014, presented by Army ROTC. This years event will feature some friendly competition for the first time, as colleges and universities compete for the Campus Philly Cup, to be awarded to the school with the best participation at the event. The all-day festival, with an expected attendance of more than 5,000 students, includes pop-up arts performances and vendor booths at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, plus free admission to museums along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and in Historic Philadelphia. CollegeFest 2014 features: Local and national vendors who will have samples, special offers, games and giveaways. An Involvement Fair sponsored by Generocity.org, where students meet community groups making an impact in the region. A crew of local food vendors. Pop-up performances from cultural partners participating in Campus Phillys Open Arts program, on the Kimmel Center Stage. Free rides on the PHLASH bus, for college students to explore Center City Philadelphia, provided by the Independence Visitor Center. Free access to museums along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and in Historic Philadelphia. CollegeFest, which was branded as College Day in previous years, is a keystone event for college students, introducing them to Philadelphia and initiating four years of off-campus exploration. For many participants, it is a first experience seeing Philadelphia beyond the borders of campus, says Rashid Zakat, now a Philadelphia-based artist and videographer. CollegeFest is produced by Campus Philly, a nonprofit organization that serves as college students off-campus student activities and career services office, in collaboration with exclusive partners AT&T, IKEA, Green Mountain Energy, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, SALT, and City of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. The festival is free to attend. We meet thousands of students at our 31 college and university partner campuses during student activities fairs and orientation events in August and September, says Campus Phillys president, Deborah Diamond. CollegeFest is our chance to show students their other campus. One of the great things about going to school in Philadelphia is that the whole city can become your campus and CollegeFest offers students an introduction to the organizations that want to engage students all year long. CollegeFest draws students from 65 colleges and universities from all over the region, from as far away as New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Central Pennsylvania. In 2013, College Day drew 5,000 attendees including 4,500 students, generated 5,900 visits to downtown museums, and yielded $105,300 dollars in direct economic impact. For more details on this event please visit campusphilly.org/collegefest.

Nutter and Clarke to PA House: Pass Cigarette Tax!

from the inbox:

In response to the Pennsylvania State House of Representative’s decision to not return to Harrisburg to vote on HB 1177, Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Council President Darrell Clarke released the following statement:

 “As we have stated repeatedly over the last year, the Cigarette Tax is a critically important part of a multi-pronged solution to support the children of Philadelphia and our public schools for the next school year and for years to come.  The news that the House will not return next week to pass HB 1177 is devastating to us. Superintendent Dr. William Hite has been clear that without the new revenue from the Philadelphia Cigarette Tax to fill the now $81 million budget gap, he could not open schools on time. We support Dr. Hite’s belief that ensuring schools are safe and adequately staffed is more important than opening schools as planned on September 8^th.

 "We appreciate the House’s well-intentioned idea of having the City advance money to the District to help address the District’s short-term cash flow needs. However, this only advances money already included in the District’s budget and does nothing to address the substantial budget gap that the funds generated by the Philadelphia Cigarette Tax would help close. Superintendent Hite has requested certainty on the Philadelphia Cigarette Tax by August 15 in order to know that the District has the resources it needs to operate schools safely this year.  For all of those reasons, we hope that the legislature will reconsider today’s decision and choose to come back to Harrisburg by August 15 and pass HB 1177. 

"We remain grateful to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the State Senate for demonstrating that the education of Philadelphia’s youth is important for the future of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by passing versions of the Cigarette Tax earlier this month.  The City of Philadelphia requests that state lawmakers take action once again for the sake of our school children.”

David Oh and Vocational Training

Two notes from Philadelphia City Councilman David Oh's Facebook page:

On behalf of Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and Councilman Bobby Henon, I'd like to thank the employers who attended this morning's meeting on establishing a VET (vocational education & training) Program in Philadelphia. VET offers a high school degree and a certificate in a vocation based on hands on experience & training with an employer. The student is paid while employed and must pass a vocational test to receive a certificate. It is a very competitive program and offers students up-to-date training with the latest technology and skills with an employer who will most likely hire the student when the program is completed. Based on this morning's feedback, we will move forward with trying to establish a pilot program.

and

Participants included: Councilman Oh; Councilman Henon; Ben Brock, Councilwoman Blackwell; Michael Cooper, Office of Manufacturing & Technology; Chris Beck, University of Penn Health System, Dr. Robert Beck, Fox Chase Cancer Center; William Carter, Gilbane Building Company; John Clayton, Independence Blue Cross; Alexander Fazzini, L.F. Driscoll Company; Jackie Green, B&G Manufacturing Company, Inc.; Jon Hood, CHOP; Jerry Moser & Amy Hennessey, Subcontractors Association of Delaware Valley; Steve Herzog, Philadelphia Energy Solutions; David Holmes, AgustaWestland; Keith Howard, Philadelphia Airport Marriott; Dawn McEleney, AT&T; Ron Manos, TMK Produce; Nick Piergallini, Lockheed Martin; Dorothea Renner, Day&Zimmermann; John Russell, Allied Barton Security; Bill Ryan, Einstein Healthcare Network; Bill Simmons, Honeywell; Erika Spott, UGI Corporation; and Greg Stafford, The Inn at Penn, Hilton. 

White House to Honor Helen Gym

from the inbox:

On Monday, March 31st, the White House will honor 10 community leaders who embody the spirit of Cesar E. Chavez’ legacy.  Each of the Cesar Chavez Champions of Change have committed themselves to improving the lives of others in their communities and across the country. At the core, all of our honorees represent the values and steadfast determination of Cesar Chavez to organize ourselves for a more just tomorrow.

 

These recognitions are part of the Administration’s effort to celebrate Chavez’ extraordinary commitment to a lifetime of service. At a screening of the new feature film Cesar Chavez, President Obama reflected on Chavez’ legacy stating, “One of the great lessons of Cesar’s life (is) that you don’t give up the fight.  No matter how long it takes, no matter how long the odds, you keep going, fueled by a simple creed – si se puede.”  As part of the Administration-wide effort to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day, President Obama signed a presidential proclamation calling on all Americans to recognize the birth of one of America’s greatest champions of social justice by engaging in service. 

During the Champions of Change event, White House officials will recognize the Champions’ hard work and lead a discussion about how to advance, expand and develop resources and partnerships that will continue to improve the lives of all Americas, including Latinos. 

 

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. 

 

The event will be moderated by Lisa Garcia Quiroz, Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at Time Warner Inc., and Marco Davis, Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. The event is closed to press but will be live streamed on the White House website. To watch this event live, visitwww.whitehouse.gov/live at 10:00 AM ET on March 31st.  To learn more about the White House Champions of Change program and nominate a Champion, visit www.whitehouse.gov/champions.

 

Helen Gym, Board Member, Asian Americans UnitedPhiladelphia, PA

 

Helen Gym is a community and education leader whose work across different organizations supports the right to a quality public education for all children. A former school teacher and journalist, she leads the board of Asian Americans United, a 28-year old organization serving Philadelphia’s diverse Asian American and immigrant communities. At AAU, she has organized against predatory gambling and led a campaign to address human rights issues in immigration and deportation practices. She helped found a Chinatown-based charter school serving many immigrant families and anchored a successful federal civil rights case focused on the responsibility of adults to create safe school environments free from bias and harassment. She is a co-founder of Parents United for Public Education, a citywide parent group that has successfully advocated for millions of dollars in new revenue for Philadelphia public schools. She is a frequent writer and contributor in local media circles; helped establish the city’s independent education newspaper, the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, as its first full-time editor; and is currently on the editorial board of Rethinking Schools, a social justice teaching journal.

Epi-Pen Legislation

A note from our friends at the Education Policy and Leadership Center:

House Bill 803 (Rep. Richard Stevenson, R-8) would establish a new section in the Public School Code to permit a school entity to authorize a trained school employee to administer anepinephrine auto-injector to any student believed to be having an anaphylactic reaction, and to maintain a supply of epinephrine auto-injectors prescribed by a physician in the name of the school entity. The bill provides for storage of the injectors, designation and training of responsible individuals, and notification of parents. HB 803 was unanimously approved on December 10.

Return of the Gun Boys

There was another school shooting this week.  That is worrying for many reasons but some of those reasons hit very close to home.  Years ago there was a gun incident at my children's elementary school.  No one was hurt but the parents were, as you can imagine, very concerned.  The gun boys (as I think of them) seemed to disappear from the school, rumors abounded but nothing was known for certain.  One of my children was in the same classroom as one of the gun boys so I took it all very much to heart.

Fast forward to today.  Guess who's back?  Yes, at least one of the gun boys, and yes, he's sitting in a class with one of my little snowflakes.  This pulls me in two directions.  I believe in redemption, though it does not sound like this gun boy is any more mentally stable now than he was then.  I believe everyone deserves the chance for a good education, something the schools in my area provide.  I also understand how disruptive the presence of one or more "acting out" students can be in a group.  I know that as just a parent volunteer; teachers can probably tell a lot more alarming stories.

One of the questions that always comes up when I talk with people about the Philadelphia schools is what do you do with students who have little or no interest in learning and who actively pull the gaze of the teacher and the other students to themselves on a regular basis, to the detriment of the learning environment.  What do you do with a student who destroys the projects or work of other students?  If you start warehousing them this early what hope is there for them?

And what the heck do you do with a gun boy?  To quote The King and I "is a puzzlement."

Two Arts Education Notes

Two arts and education related events, from the inbox:

The third annual Pennsylvania Arts and Education Symposium will be held in Harrisburg on Wednesday, October 30, 2013 from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at the State Museum of Pennsylvania.  This daylong event is sponsored by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC) and the Pennsylvania Arts Education Network and will feature presentations and workshops led by state and national leaders in arts and education.  The keynote speaker will be Ian David Moss, research director of Fractured Atlas, founder of Createquity, and a leader in arts evaluation and advocacy.  Other sessions will include a Policy Leader Workshop with members of the state legislature, Department of Education, and other state agencies invited.

PCN's Focus on Education, to be aired later this month, will also focus on arts education.  Check PCN's listings for details.